“He’s making a list and checking it twice.”
With Christmas fast approaching, we hear this line over and over in the popular holiday song. We often rush through this busy season making lists of our own – lists of presents to buy, party supplies to get, Christmas dinner ingredients to pick up, etc.
For church staffs, the Christmas season is an especially busy and often stressful one, preparing for one of the their biggest services of the year: the Christmas Eve service. So much work, creativity, time, and planning is put into these services, more than the congregation could ever know.
To alleviate some of the stress of the planning, our team created a list for you – a comprehensive checklist for your Christmas Eve services. As you plan the creative elements of your Christmas service, this checklist will ensure that you don’t overlook any of the important operational elements that need to be considered as well.
Here are 16 elements to prepare for when coordinating your Christmas Eve services.
1. Volunteers
Because you’ll have many more people attending your Christmas Eve service than a typical Sunday, you’ll need many more volunteers to make your service run smoothly. Make sure you have done a volunteer push in the weeks beforehand to cover all of the Christmas services and additional service elements you will be including. You’ll probably need extra volunteers to greet, serve in the nursery, direct traffic/parking, make sure the bathrooms are tidy, hand out candles, etc.
2. Parking
Make sure there is enough parking available and people directing traffic. If adding additional parking means the attendees will have to walk long distances, then offer shuttles that can pick up your attendees to relieve them from the long walk. Also, give your congregation an overview ahead of time of what the parking situation will look like for the service so they can arrive earlier if needed or leave some of the closer spots to first-time visitors.
3. Number and times of services
How many services are you having and at what times? Make sure you announce the service dates and times weeks in advance so that the congregation can invite their friends and family. It’s a great idea to create beautiful postcards that include the services and times and distribute them throughout the community. Your church body can take a stack and give them out to neighbors or coworkers. Just be sure to include all vital information on the cards: address, services, times, website, etc.
4. Overflow and equipment
If you expect your services to have more people than the sanctuary holds, make sure you have an overflow space with plenty of chairs for extra seating. That space needs to be fully equipped with screens for video feed and the proper sound equipment. And make sure there are volunteers in the overflow space to assist with the offering, candle lighting, etc.
5. Childcare
Make it clear to your congregation and on any advertising if childcare is going to be provided for your Christmas Eve services. If children are going to be in the service, make sure you at least have a space for nursing mothers. If children are going to be in the classrooms, make sure you have plenty of volunteers for those rooms, as well as fun Christmas-themed activities for them to do.
6. Types of services
If you offer different types of services on a typical weekend, consider what direction you are going to go for your Christmas services. Are you going to have a traditional service, a contemporary service, or both? You can also think about having either a musically focused service where you are primarily singing carols, or have a service that is sermon-centered.
7. Marketing and communication
Beginning first thing in December, market your services to the whole community and the church. As we touched on previously, consider sending out postcards about the service to the homes within a few miles of the church. This will be the time where people who don’t usually go to church will take an hour or so out of their holiday schedules to try one out, so getting the word out about your services could very well mean many more hearts touched for Jesus. Consider creating a video or email invitation from your Pastor that the congregation can easily share with friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Remember, in any marketing efforts you use to invite people to your services, make sure the important information is included clearly: address, services, times, website, etc.
8. Worship musicians
Make sure your Worship Band is organized weeks or even months before the service. Well in advance, get your set list arranged, practice dates set, and music distributed. A lot of people in your church body have Christmas travel plans, so make sure you aren’t asking them to change their plans last minute. Also, many churches hire additional instrumentalists or vocalists to make the services’ worship and musical elements even more full and beautiful. However, many musicians get booked quickly or plan their Christmas travel far in advance, so make sure you are booking these additional musicians well ahead of time.
9. Programming team
Have the people who are working sound and other technical aspects of your services booked as well. More than likely, you will want the service videoed, so make sure you can delegate those roles to individuals before you get down to the wire.
10. Tickets
If it will be helpful for your staff to estimate how many people will be at each Christmas Even service, consider creating “tickets” for each service. Your congregants can reserve their spots at the service they are planning to attend by picking up their tickets. It doesn’t mean that others aren’t allowed to go if they don’t have a ticket or that your congregants can’t go to another service. The advantage to this is they can pass these out to friends and family as well, and it gives you a better idea as to how many people may show up to each particular service.
11. Security
If you have a need for security for your Christmas services, think about how many security guards you will need outside, in the service, and in other areas of the building so you can have the right amount scheduled ahead of time. It’s no fun working on Christmas Eve, so maybe prepare a small gift of appreciation for them ahead of time; it’s a great way to show them Christ’s love.
12. Family photos
Consider offering free family photos to those who attend your Christmas services. Mothers love having a picture taken when the family is in their “Sunday best,” and it’s a great small gift you can give everyone. Have a photographer available to take family photos or have a photo booth available. Both members and visitors will appreciate the opportunity and remember the service.
13. Charity drives
December is a great month to participate in some sort of charity drive for the needy. Whether that’s collecting food for the local food bank, participating in Operation Christmas Child, or donating toys and clothes for the impoverished families in your community, your Christmas Eve service can be the culmination of these efforts, where you celebrate and thank your congregation for what it has given to others.
14. Bible story for kids
Some churches do a Bible story for the children in the service, where they’re invited to come up, sit at the feet of the storyteller, and hear the story of Christmas and the true reason it is being celebrated. If you’re including this element in your Christmas services, make sure to have the book or script ready and the storyteller lined up.
15. Advent calendar
If your church is participating in an Advent Calendar or lighting Advent candles each week, make sure this component is incorporated into the Christmas Eve services as well. If you’re still considering making an Advent Calendar for your church for the month of December, remember that it can be as simple as a calendar that has a Bible verse for the 25 days leading up to Christmas, or you could send out email devotionals for 25 days. Think about creative ways to set up a way for families to walk through the Christmas story together through an Advent Calendar.
16. Special service elements
At your service, include special elements like a live nativity, hot chocolate, or carolers singing before and after the service, just to name a few ideas. This is a time for families to celebrate Jesus being born, so make it fun and memorable! Just be sure to plan well ahead of time any details needed for any special service elements you are including.
